Chinese Fugitive On Interpol's Most Wanted List Arrested In Bali

By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar

JAKARTA, Oct 11 (Bernama) -- Indonesia’s immigration agency at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali has arrested a Chinese national on Interpol’s Most Wanted List for large-scale financial crimes on Oct 1 while he attempted to leave the holiday island.

The suspect is linked to a major fraud case in China, where he allegedly collected more than 100 billion Chinese yuan (around US$14.1 billion) from over 50,000 victims through deceptive investment schemes.

Identified as LQ, he reportedly lured individuals with promises of false principal and interest payments, offering enticing annual returns of six to 10.1 per cent.

“LQ was detained at the airport’s autogate after trying to leave Indonesia using a Turkish passport under the name Joe Lin,” Immigration director general Silmy Karim said in a statement.

He said officers acted on a red notice issued by Interpol on Sept 27 and used facial recognition to identify LQ upon his arrival in Bali on Sept 26 with Turkish passport number U23358200, aboard Singapore Airlines flight SQ0944.

“As soon as we confirmed that LQ’s identity matched the profile of a passenger named Joe Lin, we immediately added him to the prevention list to facilitate his apprehension,” Silmy added.

After three days in detention at Ngurah Rai Immigration Office, LQ was transferred to the Directorate General of Immigration on Oct 4 and handed over to Interpol on Thursday (Oct 10).

Silmy confirmed that Indonesia’s immigration system is fully integrated with Interpol’s Global Police Communication System, which operates 24/7.

He also reiterated that the republic is not a safe haven for international fugitives and pledged continued efforts to enhance border security systems.

-- BERNAMA